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cocoy
02-04-2009, 09:50 AM
What are your thoughts?

Do you ask for them? Does it depend on the job size?

vangogh
02-04-2009, 10:50 AM
I almost always ask for a deposit whenever I work for a new client. If the job is so small I may not, though I won't deliver any files until payment is made. Once clients have built up a history and we have a relationship I usually don't ask for a deposit unless the job is sufficiently large. A lot depends on the client though.

I offer retainers for some people when I think it would be a good fit. I have some clients that ask me to do essentially the same thing each month for about the same amount of hours. I'll offer them a retainer where they pay me monthly based on how many hours I typically spend working on their site and then offer them a small discount on my hourly rate. They save a little money and I don't have to spend time estimating prices for some tasks.

Steve B
02-04-2009, 07:31 PM
I don't. My competition does. I like being different.

Dan Furman
02-04-2009, 09:00 PM
I don't consider a project "real" unless I get a financial commitment. That means 50% down, or full prepay for a project under 1k. I won't block time out for anyone or put them on my schedule without it.

I wish it didn't have to be that way, but I have found people who are not willing to do that are really not serious clients.

vangogh
02-05-2009, 10:15 AM
I found it to be the same for me Dan. Too many people early on who were all interested in the work until it came time to pay the bill. I've found a very easy way to see who really is serious is to ask for the deposit. Now I don't start work for new clients until I've received a deposit.

KristineS
02-05-2009, 12:38 PM
I don't do a lot of paying work on my own yet, but when I do I will ask for a deposit. Retainers would be even better because that would be money you could count on every month.

I've heard too many horror stories from business owners who didn't get the money up front, did the work and got stiffed. It just doesn't pay (literally) to take chances.

Just H
02-05-2009, 02:01 PM
I'm starting to ask for a deposit every time. In the past, I made a decision just on how the person was interacting with me and if I knew them at all from anything previously. My one big mistake came when doing some work for a guy who worked with one of my regular clients. I made the assumption I could count on full and prompt payment like my regular customer - and I went ahead and laid out the money for the metal signs to be printed and shipped. My regular client paid me promptly for all work and product when I invoiced him but the new guy didn't. He owed me almost $600. Two years later and I've recovered just under half of it, I still get $5 checks every 3-6 months! I've told him at this point to just call it even (I won't work with him again) as it's more bother for me to cash a $5 check than it's worth.

At least with that, I've learned that I can decide on whether I want to get a design project from a client but I NEVER outlay my own money anymore for the product itself. Some of it is a learning process, some just trusting your intuition and it seems once you look more legitimate and think of yourself that way, it's easier to just state it and base your biz on running that way.

I agree w/ above too that it definitely weeds out those who are sure of what they want and those who aren't. And once they have money invested, they seem much more likely to get back to you and give input. Seems to help on both ends if there's some investment - me with my time and the client w/ some deposit and ideas.

SteveC
02-05-2009, 06:01 PM
I used to work on a payment on completion basis and then I got stuffed by one customer at Christmas time... they owed my thousands and refused to pay, the owner of the business sacked the general manager and then claimed he didn’t have the authority to place orders... etc... with the end result being we didn’t get paid and Christmas was tight that year.

This whole experience made us change the way we work, and we typically work with either full payment upfront for small projects or a 33% deposit with order, 33% payment in the middle of the project and the remainder on completion... this now means that the only monies ever owed to us at the end are at most 33%...

For all our hosting and Internet Marketing customers... they either pay or if they get two months behind our services are suspended until full payment is made... in all the years we have operated we have only had to suspend services once... and that resulted in payment within the hour... it is amazing what turning someone’s email access off does to their ability to pay.

My advice is do nothing without something being paid, it makes life a lot easier and a lot less stressful.

huggytree
02-05-2009, 09:38 PM
i warn my customers against paying money up front. when i finish the job for a homeowner i dont leave the house without a check. if they are not home they leave a check on the kitchen table for me to take....never had 1 payment problem with a homeowner.

with my builders id love to get $ up front...no one would do it...but it would solve some of the issues im having lately...

most of my competition does not get money up front either from homeowners. my jobs are usually 1 day or 2 at the most, so i get the money up to 30 days before i even have to pay for materials.

Steve B
02-06-2009, 05:13 AM
My answer would be different if I were a designer like many above. Their answers all make sense for their business.

It depends on your industry. You can easily find out what the standard practice is for what you do and decide if you want to be slightly more or less stringent. I wouldn't go too far away from what your competitors are doing because there is probably a reason for it and you can learn from their experiences.

Just H
02-06-2009, 10:11 AM
Good point, SteveB - it definitely depends on the commonalities of the field and what clients are used to. If you come into the area and start asking for deposits where it's not the common practice and you're new to the locals, it seems the common response would be to label you as suspicious at best and very well not use your services at all. I think developing your own style and methods would work fine once you establish a client base and your reputation.